


Jelly Beans and Bourbon

by steggyisimmortal



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Valentine's Day, everyone does a lot of drinking, one armed push up contest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 01:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5986972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steggyisimmortal/pseuds/steggyisimmortal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And that was how they all came to be heaving and sweaty trying not to collapse in a heap in the dirt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jelly Beans and Bourbon

**Author's Note:**

> For Steggytime's Day on Tumblr. I must thank gatorjen for helping with with the booze knowledge as I have next to none and Google was not helpful.

Laughter rang around the campfire. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dugan run so fast!” Monty laughed. 

“I didn’t know he could run that fast!” Morita insulted the man in mention. He passed the bottle of bourbon to Peggy who poured a generous serving into her cup.

“Fuck you, Fresno.” Dugan took the bourbon Peggy offered him. “When I’m stealing bourbon, I always run.”

“You didn’t even steal it!” Peggy interrupted with mock indignation. “I was the one carrying three bottles while I was being shot at by that chap you thought you’d taken care of!”

“Hey, no!” Dugan pointed a finger across the dancing flames. “That kid was Frenchie’s responsibility. My job was to make sure the exits were clear and they were. Cap, back me up here.”

Steve held his hands up in surrender when both Dugan and Peggy turned their eyes on him. Dernier was busy stringing out a long line of insults towards Dugan. The large man simply waved them away with a flutter of his hand.

“All right, all right. We all know I don’t speak French.”

“It’s a shame you don’t” Peggy said. “He’s insulting you fantastically.” 

Gabe raised his cup in the air and nodded his head towards Peggy. “To Carter. No one steals booze like her.”

The men all raised their cups and echoed his words. They downed their drinks, eager to start their relaxation. 

“I still don’t know how they got ahold of this bourbon.” Steve tilted the bottle to read the label again. 

“It’s a good thing they had it,” Bucky said, snatching the bottle from his friend. “It’s been a while since I’ve been good and drunk.”

“It’s such a shame. There are no unsuspecting women here for you to harass.” 

Bucky gave Peggy a sarcastic smirk to show how he felt about that remark. 

“Well, I could always try some moves on you,” he paused to sip at his drink, taking a moment to wink at her as well, “but I don’t think Steve would appreciate that.”

“Careful, Buck,” Steve warned lowly. Steve kept his eyes on the cup in his hands but Bucky could hear the restraint in his voice. “You don’t know what happened to the last guy that said that to her.” 

Bucky nodded, finishing off the remainder in his cup. “Oh, I can imagine.”

Steve and Peggy’s relationship wasn’t exactly a secret among the men but they didn’t showcase it either. If anything, camping out in the middle of nowhere in the company of friends was the only place the two could pretend the world wasn’t at odds and they were just an ordinary couple.

They talked the night away, drinking to their heart’s content and sharing stories they’d all heard a million times before. Peggy and Dugan got into a drinking contest. They were both three shots in when Bucky decided to join in as well. 

“I can’t let Carter show me up,” he’d explained, quickly downing three shots to catch up.

Steve just shook his head and handed a fresh bottle to Peggy. “Just don’t start bitching tomorrow when we roll out at sunrise. I can carry one person and it ain’t gonna be you or Dugan.”

“Thank you, darling,” Peggy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, “but that won’t be necessary. I will win by a landslide and be well enough to pack up at first light. Never underestimate an English woman, boys.”

“That’s true,” Monty piped in. “My nana is the strongest person I know. She could drink a barrel of whiskey and still be able to carry an ox up a mountain.”

Morita gave the man a funny look. “Why’s she carrying an ox up a mountain?” 

“I don’t know. I’m drunk.” He shrugged lazily and snuggled down further against the log he was leaning on. “Englishmen can’t hold their liquor like the women.”

“That is an absolute fact,” Peggy concurred loudly. Steve hid a chuckle behind his cup. 

The trio continued for over an hour, matching shot for shot in fifteen rounds, before Gabe had a suggestion.

“You should make it more interesting. Anyone can just sit there and drink. You’re the Howling Commandos!” Peggy raised an impeccably manicured eyebrow at him. “And Agent Carter. Do something legendary.”

A contemplative look came over Peggy’s face. 

“Oh, you shouldn’t have said that,” Steve shook his head. He was smiling, though. It was nice to see his friends letting go of their cares and having some fun. If there was anything the war had taught him, it was to treasure the little moments of downtime and normalcy. 

“Definitely shouldn’t have said that,” Monty agreed.

Peggy smirked cheekily at them, her tongue sticking out ever so slightly between her teeth. She used to do this sort of thing with Michael and his friends all the time. It had always been a cake walk for her. Of course, it had been a while since she’d done this but Peggy Carter was hell bent on winning. 

“All right. Care to make it interesting, gents?” Her drinking companions looked at her and waited for her to continue. “I bet you can’t drink and do push-ups.”

“You’re on,” Bucky agreed immediately.

“You’re right,” Dugan agreed with Peggy, taking a moment to belch loudly. “I’m about to hurl as it is.”

“Wait,” she held up a finger, her brain working quickly despite the alcohol. “Not just any push-ups. One armed push-ups.”

And that was how they all came to be heaving and sweaty trying not to collapse in a heap in the dirt. 

They had agreed that they would take a shot every two minutes without falling out of their stance. Dernier was in charge of timing them while Steve counted Peggy’s push-ups, Gabe Bucky’s, and Morita Dugan’s. 

“What exactly does the winner get? Is there a purpose to this?” Steve wondered uselessly, looking around from person to person. 

“Glory,” Peggy answered succinctly. Her breathing was controlled and her focus was on a spot on the ground. She was in a zone, easing out the others and focusing on her mission. 

“It’s a dominance thing, Cap. You wouldn’t understand,” Dugan panted out. “Maybe one of these days, Peg’ll let you be on top and it’ll all make sense.”

“Is that how it’s supposed to be?” she asked innocently. “Could have fooled me. I’m sure all those women appreciated your sweaty bulk collapsing on top of them after only sixty seconds.”

Collective laughs broke out at once from the men. Steve was glad no one was paying him any attention in that moment. His cheeks turned beet red from the hard blush that came over him. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand dominance; all his life he’d been struggling to be heard. But if they knew what it was like to watch Peggy take control, they wouldn’t have any trouble giving up the spot on top every once in a while.

At their twentieth shot, Bucky collapsed to the ground. 

“Buck, what happened?” Steve teased. “I thought you were representing New York?”

“Shut up, punk,” he mumbled breathlessly. “And stopping spinning like that. You’re gonna make me barf. How many was that?”

“Forty two.”

“Just you and me, Carter.”

“For now, Timothy. How much longer until you collapse?”

Dugan laughed. “Never. We Irishmen can do this in our sleep.”

“Are you sure?” Peggy looked up at him and noticed he was slower coming back up than he had been a few moments ago. “I believe I see your arms wobbling.”

“That’s just your vision. All that bourbon must be getting to you.”

“All right, this trash talk has been…excellent,” Steve rolled his eyes, “but it’s time to drink again.”

The insults died down as Peggy and Dugan concentrated on slowly lowering their bodies to the ground and carefully picking themselves back up. Their breathing was noticeably labored but neither showed any real sign of stopping. 

Dugan’s arm began to wobble around his seventy-fifth push-up. They were twenty four shots in by that point but he kept pressing on. Peggy looked decently strong. She’d ceased to answer to anything, focusing instead on controlling her breathing and motions. She took her shots like a champ, slugging them back before pressing on with the exercise. 

Victory was in sight when Dugan went down but never came back up.

“Eighty two, ace,” Morita congratulated him. Dugan brushed him off in a hurry. 

“Pick me up and find me a bush.”

Gabe and Morita quickly followed his orders and led the large man to the bushes, grimacing and turning away as he proceeded to lose everything he’d ingested that night.

“Peg, you won!” 

But the woman shook her head. “I don’t want to win by default.”

She pressed on, forcing her body through the pain. Steve continued to tell her when the two minute mark hit, although all the men agreed that by this point she didn’t have to continue drinking. Their words fell on deaf ears, though. Peggy wouldn’t win this contest by any means less than the conditions set for all of them. She wanted a fair victory, not an easy way out.

Her arm started shaking when she came up for her hundredth push-up. She exhaled loudly through her mouth, breathing out the struggle. She was sweating a decent amount by now. She was hot from the liquor and the exercise. She knew the chill in the air would be hell on her when she was done - a never ending hot flash she couldn’t escape followed by a cold that went straight to her bones and dug in. 

“Come on, Peggy. You can do it,” Steve softly encouraged next to her. She was slower than she would have liked but she plodded on. 

She almost didn’t make it up from her one hundred and sixth, taking a moment to find her balance as the world started spinning beneath her, when she heard the boys softly chanting her name. 

“You can do it, Peg. I know you have one more in you.”

She hovered there a moment, her eyes squeezed shut and her brain pleading with the Earth to slow its rotation for just one moment. Slowly, haltingly, she brought her body down to the ground. Her knee slipped and almost dropped to the dirt but she quickly caught it and strained to bring herself back up, letting out a low growl as the seconds dragged on. She hovered there for a second. Her arms seemed unsure what to do. It was almost as if her body was locking itself into position but it wasn’t long before she came crashing down to Earth. 

“107!”

“Holy shit! I’ve never seen anyone do that!”

“Peggy, are you okay?!”

She rolled over onto her back. Seven faces stared down her, the awe clear on each and every one. Despite being beaten, by a woman no less, Bucky and Dugan looked duly impressed. 

“I hate you all,” she said with a chuckle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I can’t believe you had that many shots of bourbon,” Steve said in disbelief. “I think you may have put away a bottle all by yourself.”

Peggy smiled goofily at him. She tapped him on the nose, making him laugh. Not because it was funny but because her movements were halting and unsure. She squinted her eyes at him, trying to deduce if he was laughing at her or with her. She gave a barely noticeable shrug, deciding it didn’t really matter.

She felt happy and giddy and wide awake in the cold night. They weren’t emotions she found herself feeling much of in the last four years since she joined the war effort. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like. 

Peggy leaned closer to him, though it was hardly necessary, and beckoned him closer with the crook of a finger. Steve chuckled but followed her drunken orders. None of the guys would hear what she had to say seeing as how they were all passed out around the fire. They were plenty close as it was, lying side by side on Steve’s bedroll with his jacket covering mostly Peggy. Almost as soon as they’d laid down, she’d brought herself closer by draping a leg over his hip. She was uninhibited this evening but neither one had any complaints about it.

“Can I tell you a secret?” she stage whispered, a conspiring smile taking over her features. He nodded his agreement. Her face pressed close to his. “I’m going to feel like shit in the morning.”

He broke away with a guffaw, throwing his head back and clutching his chest. “That’s it?! That’s your big secret? I know that! You smell like a distillery.”

“I do?” Her hand covered her mouth like it could contain the smell of liquor wafting from her. Steve simply removed her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of it, holding her chocolate brown eyes with his.

“It’s doesn’t matter. I still wanna kiss ya.”

His lips covered hers eagerly. Her motions were a little sloppy but it didn’t bother him. Hell, she could run her tongue over every inch of his face and he’d laugh and say ‘thank you.’

He wrapped her in his arms and held her close. She sighed in pleasure at the feeling of being secure against him. 

Peggy pulled away first. Her face fell into the crook his neck, his pulse beating rapidly against her forehead. She tried counting the beats but either they were coming too fast or her brain was too slow. Probably both, she told herself. 

“Where’d you learn to do that anyway? Drink like that?”

“From my brother Michael.” Her eyes were nostalgic, her tone wistful. “He didn’t actually teach me how to drink. The man could barely keep up with me, really. But I learned by tagging along whenever he went out with his friends. Michael always hated that I could handle my liquor so much better but that didn’t stop him from engaging me in contests every now and then.”

“How’d he die?” he asked, his voice soft and melancholy. 

“The Blitz. 1940.” She found a spot on his chin and focused on it. Her fingers brushed against the stubble on his cheeks, lighting tracing patterns on his jawline. “It’s funny; he wasn’t even supposed to be in Rotterdam. The plane he was on had to make an emergency landing due to damage. They were relaying their coordinates to London when their General said he heard the sound of a bomb exploding and static on the radio.

“He’s the reason I’m here, you know,” she continued on. It was funny; she often found it painful to speak of her brother out loud but now she found a solace in it. It felt therapeutic almost to share the most treasured aspect of her life with the man she loved. 

“He recommended me to the SOE when I was at Bletchley. I turned them down because my fiancé and I already had a plan for our lives. Espionage and shooting enemies and risking life and limb wasn’t a part of it.”

Steve’s eye twitched at the mention of a fiancé but he kept quiet. He knew Peggy was a woman who’d lived a full life before they even crossed paths at Camp Leigh. 

“He was mad at me. He yelled at me at my engagement party. Practically said I was wasting my life by letting everyone drum my dreams out of me. The worst part about it was that he was right. When we received the news that he died, I made a promise to myself to stop being a fool. I didn’t want Fred. He was a nice man but Michael was right. I wanted a life of adventure, not one of boredom.”

“So you joined the SOE,” Steve spoke quietly. 

She tilted her face up to catch his eyes.

“I joined the SOE,” she repeated. “And it led me to where I am right now.”

Steve kissed the tip of her nose. He smiled down at her, thanking every star in the sky she listened to her brother’s advice. 

“He would have loved you,” she continued on, her rambling taking over with a mind of its own. “He would have thought you were absolutely perfect.”

Steve gave a look of contemplative silliness. “I’m sure I would have admired him a great deal. I don’t think I would have gone straight to love.”

Peggy let out a snort of laughter and slapped him on the shoulder. 

“Cheeky.”

“I would have loved to meet him.” His face turned serious, his emotions laid bare. “It sounds like I have a lot to thank him for.”

“He saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life and instead led me to you. We both have a lot to thank him for.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hard thumps against his boot woke Steve from his peaceful slumber the next morning. He opened one eye to reveal Dugan and Bucky staring at him shaking their heads.

His eye dropped down to see a mass of hair under his nose. 

Peggy.

She was draped across his torso in what Steve was positive was a sprawled out position. He could hear her slow breaths but didn’t think she was awake just yet. 

“What?” he groaned. He raised a hand to his eyes and tried his best to wipe away the present and return to his dreams. 

“What happened to that ‘first light’ bullshit?” Bucky raised his arms and swiveled his hips to motion to the world around them. “Sun’s up and you’re still sleepin’. Just because you gotta girl now doesn’t mean you get to slack off.”

“Still can’t get on top, Cap,” Dugan shook his head, waving a hand disparagingly over the couple. 

“I may be half asleep and a touch hungover,” Peggy rumbled against Steve’s chest, her eyes still closed, “but I can still seriously hurt you, Timothy.”

The two men walked away quickly. They were well aware of the wrath of morning time Peggy Carter. 

Peggy groaned and rubbed her face against Steve’s uniform in an attempt to block out the morning. She gave him a tight squeeze when she stretched out her legs. 

“I feel like death right now.”

He chuckled. “I bet you do. But you made quite the impression on all of us.”

She made a noncommittal sound before nestling against him once more. Steve felt her body relaxing against his but he made no motion to stop her. Truth was, he wanted to curl up to her and lose himself to sleep just as much as she did. 

His arms pressed her to him once more, tucking his chin around her head and curling into her. He closed his eyes and let out a content sigh.

Well, maybe just for five minutes. That wouldn’t hurt. 

“Oh!”

Peggy shot up from her position, jostling Steve in the process. He moved his jaw back and forth to make sure her skull hadn’t cracked it. 

“What are you doing?”

“I have something for you.” Peggy dug around in her pack. She’d almost forgotten the best prize she’d come away with yesterday. “I saw a calendar when I was rifling through the Oberführer’s office. I can’t believe I hadn’t even given the day a second thought when I was filling out requisition forms. When I saw these, though, I knew it was fate.”

Steve looked confused until he saw what she removed from her pack. Jellybeans. His favorite candy.

A smile blossomed brightly on his face, taking the candy from her outstretched hand speechlessly. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, darling.”


End file.
